Win the lot or we can forget Europe
MAN CITY MAN UTD LIVERPOOL TOTTENHAM CHELSEA ARSENAL P W D L F A PTS 30 26 3 1 85 20 81 30 20 5 5 58 23 65 31 18 9 4 73 34 63 30 18 7 5 59 25 61 30 17 5 8 52 27 56 30 14 6 10 55 41 48 ANTONIO CONTE has warned his Chelsea players that Sunday’s top four showdown against Tottenham is a must-win game – and demanded maximum points from all their last eight games.
Chelsea go into the London derby at Stamford Bridge lying five points behind their fourth-placed rivals and, with only seven games to go in the Premier League season after the match, anything other than a win would leave Conte’s team with an almost impossible task.
The Chelsea manager is struggling with injuries to two of his key players, with Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Danish defender Andreas Christensen both returning from the international break injured.
“If we win, we go very close to Tottenham,” said Conte. “Otherwise, it will be difficult to take a place in the Champions League.
“Nothing is impossible. But we have to win every game, not make mistakes, and not drop points in this final run of the season. Our REPORTS target for this final stretch is to take a place in the Champions League and reach the final of the FA Cup, and then try to win it. These must be our targets.”
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that top scorer Harry Kane could make a surprise early comeback at Stamford Bridge after three weeks out with ankle ligament but that is not the case.” At best, it appears Kane would be a substitute.
Pochettino said: “He feels now the benefit of what he does every day when he is fit. He’s doing his rehab and is doing well.”
While a fit Kane is a certain World Cup starter for England, the same now problems. But Conte has warned his team that their opponents are not just a one-man side and have other players that can cause problems.
Conte said: “We are talking about one of the best strikers in the world.
“When you have a striker who scores 30 goals every season, for sure when he’s missing you feel it.
“But Tottenham have many talented players. They play good football with great intensity.
“In the past, they showed that, despite Kane missing games, that did not change. We are talking about a great team, a really good manager, cannot be said for team-mate Dele Alli. Pochettino believes Alli, 21, has been a victim of his own success and wants fans at games to get off his back.
He said: “You can see every time we play away from home, the fans focus on him. It’s time to stop and try to help because Dele would be such an important player for England, not only for Tottenham.” many talented players in this team. I have great respect for Tottenham. In these last few years, they have grown a lot. Now they are one of the best teams in England.”
Courtois withdrew from the Belgium squad this week with a hamstring problem and returned to Chelsea for treatment, while Christensen was sent home by the Danes suffering from fatigue.
Conte will monitor the duo over the next 24 hours before making a decision but he has a problem if Christensen is ruled out, with his normal potential replacement, Brazilian David Luiz, now out for three weeks with a knee problem. Gary Cahill, left out by England this past fortnight, is the man likely to step in.
Conte said: “We have to check this couple of situations, see what their real physical condition is, if they’re able to play. At the moment it’s very difficult to tell.
“We’ll try to recover Christensen but, otherwise, it would not be the first time Gary has played in this role. We are talking about a great player and someone I trust.”